Monthly Archives: April 2018

Our eleven delegates to the 2018 PSAC National were in their seats and ready to work when the week long conference began Sunday. The day kicked off with a meeting of delegates from across the North, including Nunavut and the NWT. YEU Vice President Paul Johnston joined UNW President Todd Parsons and NEU President Bill Fennel on a panel to explain the resolutions, constitutional work and financial proposals their respective committees had worked on.

Candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency stopped by to introduce themselves and do a bit of campaigning. YEU Delegate Charlene Smith reports that Northern delegates asked the question “what will you do for us if we vote you in?”

Presidential candidates vowed to visit remote northern communities and talk to members about what they need from the PSAC. None claimed to be experts on the north, but all expressed their intent to stay open to the needs of the region, and to try and learn from the members – the real experts.

YEU delegate Derek Yap was honoured to be asked to join two other activists in singing Oh Canada and Solidarity Forever to open the Convention. He did a great job, and we were all very proud!

Day two is the start of the real work, the business of Convention with debates on resolutions, finance, constitution and more on the agenda for the coming days. We will let you know things are going, and share stories of our delegates in action.

We are only a few days away from the National Convention of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. As usual, the Yukon Employees’ Union will send a delegation of activists to Convention to represent us at the national level. Our delegates hail from six Locals, and reflect the diversity of our union.

Members of our Executive have played key roles on several Convention committees, meeting over the past several months to discuss resolutions, finances and more. Their contributions will continue once we reach the Convention floor in Toronto.

Senator Murray Sinclair, Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be the Keynote Speaker on Monday April 30th, a speech certain to be moving and memorable. In fact, the week’s agenda is packed with resolutions, plenary and committee sessions, regional caucuses, after hours educational opportunities and speakers.

YEU will provide daily Convention updates which we hope you’ll follow. Look for Live Facebook video feeds and regular posts from the floor. Make sure to like the YEU’s Facebook page, keep up to date at the PSAC’s Facebook page and follow the twitter feeds of both the Yukon Employees’ Union and the Public Service Alliance of Canada. If you want to keep it simple, just follow #PSAC2018 on Twitter and you’ll see it all.

PSAC National President Robyn Benson is retiring, and a number of activists have announced their candidature. The field of candidates is diverse and exciting, with a representative cross section of Canadians offering their skills and experience to lead this dynamic organization through the coming years.

Stay tuned – follow the hashtags and watch for our regular updates. We want to be sure our members see the big picture – your representatives working for you at the PSAC 2018 National Convention.